Residents of Farin Lamba in Plateau State‘s Jos South Local Government Area stirred tension today by barricading Jos-Abuja highway with the bodies of people killed by gunmen who raided a mining site.
On Tuesday evening an alarm was raised about a possible attack on the community and its environs as armed men were sighted within the area.
The message, “Security alert: villages such as Sham, Wereng, Kum, Byei of Riyom LGA, and Farin Lamba and Dabwak in Jos South to be attacked any moment from now as armed Fulani have been spotted moving toward the area. Chaha, Rangyel, K-Vom and Chakarum, should also be on a serious watch,” was sent on several social media platforms on Tuesday evening.
The attack later took place on Tuesday night at a mining site, leaving a number of people dead.
And today, Wednesday, residents of Farin Lamba, and some parts of the nearby Riyom Local Government Area, took to the highway dragging some of the bodies along.
The protest disrupted the free flow of traffic along the Jos-Abuja Highway, as commuters sought alternative routes.
Recall that in the last two weeks, there has been a resurgent of killings almost daily in communities in Jos North, Jos South, Mangu, Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Riyom.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Alfred Alabo said, “We are on top of the situation, we are managing it so it does not escalate.
“The Area Commander found a way to divert traffic because we can’t stop the movement of the people.
“They were moving with the bodies so we were able to persuade them to remove the bodies and they agreed. We appeal to the people to be calm.
“The people were mining away from the town when they were ambushed.
“Unfortunately, persons were killed, and we are not happy with that. We saw the alert but Farin Lamba is big so we did not know the exact location.
“We appeal to people to always give timely information and the details that would help us to respond.
“We are working on the situation but we must emphasise precision when giving information.”
However, the state’s governor-elect, Caleb Mutfwang, condemned the attack.
A statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Gyang Bere said Mutfwang has noted with pain “the bloody attack by bandits on innocent citizens at a mining site in Farin Lamba community of Jos South Local Government Area, which led to the loss of lives.”
He added, “The Governor-elect condemned the attack in totality and appealed to security agencies to fish out the perpetrators to face the full wrath of the law.
“He also appealed to security personnel to do all in their power to halt further attacks on Plateau communities.”